Case bulge in 45-70

1. pressures (estimated by recoil & lever popping open) seem to be higher than they should be with a given load.

2. My reloads all have a bulge where the bullet sits in the case.

I have looked up several threads on this forum about case bulge, but noticed no one had measured a sized case prior to seating a bullet. I did this tonight with caliper and micrometer. I found that the inside and outside deimensions of my sized cases are considerably smaller than published standards.

I am using a Lee die set.

I am obviously going to look into a new set of dies. Any suggestions out there??

Case bulge in 45-70

Back your die off about 4 turns. The case and die are tapered and this will reduce the amount the case is sized. This is pretty normal in the .45-70.

Check a fired case to see if a bullet is a slide fit before resizing. One of the things that can cause high pressures is a chamber too tight for your bullet and case combination. If a bullet will not slide into a fired case, that's your likely culprit.

Case bulge in 45-70

stobey:

I found that the lever would pop open when I shot. It was caused by recoil forcing the gun up with my hand inside the lever loop opening the action. Try holding the gun with your hand outside the lever loop.

What was the load? If it was weighed and from a manual it probably was not overpressure. If the load is ok, and the cartridge will feed, I think it is probably OK. Just to be safe try backing down the powder charge to the minimum, and see if it continues. Remember the 45/70 recoil will never be the same as a 22 rimfire.

Case bulge in 45-70

If you get a Lyman "M" die that will get rid of that bulge, their is nothing at all wrong with your Lee dies.............................................M arko

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